My cooking style, in 5 words or less: Casual. Respectful of the ingredients.

The kitchen tool I can’t live without: food processor

My go-to potluck dish: I love to bake, so I always sign up for the dessert. It’s usually a cake or pie.

The ingredient I love using most: Fresh thyme is my herb of choice. I’m also kind of in love with butter.

My passion for cooking stems from: My Cajun great-grandmother, age 101, and grandmother, 78. They both continue to cook almost daily, and my earliest memories in the kitchen are with them.

The best dish I’ve ever eaten: Well this is impossible to answer! One dish that keeps me coming back to Apalachicola, FL is the duck confit fries at the Owl Café Tap Room. The crispy fries are topped with pulled duck confit, prosciutto, and duck cracklin and are swimming in a luxurious Gruyere sauce.

My best piece of advice for home chefs: Take time to really enjoy the entire process, from prep to cooking to eating. We are all so busy, but this is important!